For closure mechanisms on racks and drawers in kitchen cabinets, storage units, furniture and the like often it is convenient and helpful to utilize spring assists for moving the mechanism in one direction, typically in the closing direction. With spring assists, the mechanism can be made self-closing, requiring only an initial start to unseat it from a secured, opened position. The mechanism can reduce the effort required for closing, even for heavily loaded drawers or racks, and can ensure that the mechanism closes completely. However, an assist having sufficient strength to close automatically a heavily loaded drawer or the like can cause undesirably abrupt movements and rapid closing, with significant impact upon reaching the fully closed position, especially when the drawer or rack is loaded lightly.
To minimize the undesirable effects of a closing mechanism, it is advantageous to temper, or damp the action of the closing spring or other assist, so that the drawer or the like closes more gently and smoothly. However, it is desirable to deactivate or circumvent the damping mechanism in the opposite direction, that is, when the drawer or rack is being pulled open. Since the opening motion may be done without mechanical assist, and in fact may itself be restrained by the expansion of an extension spring used to assist closing, further damping is not needed and may be undesirable.
It is also known to structure closing mechanism so that gravity assists closing a drawer or rack, with no additional mechanical assist required. In mechanisms of this type, too, it is desirable to damp the closing movement for smooth, gentle closing.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a self-closing slide mechanism that is simple and effective, and that can be provided to be operational in one direction.